SHRKFN15 aka Stormtrooper Gail
by ragingscooter
Summary: As the sole survivor of her transport ship crash on a lonely planet, a young stormtrooper is found by a medic and not even the force can keep them apart. Basically the Rookie Blue meets Star Wars AU that you never knew that you needed.
1. Chapter 1

"Rannon is a forest planet," the robotic voice of the navigation device said in a garbled tone as it died in Gail's Stormtrooper helmet. The crash had left Gail barely conscious but she managed to open her eyes.

"No fuck! That would explain all the trees that I fell through," she grumbled before passing out.

~A short time and a classy radial transition later :P ~

Pain. Unspeakable pain. That is what Gail felt as she drifted in and out of consciousness, her body silently screaming as she tried to breathe. She knew that her time on this godforsaken forest planet would be short. This thought came as a relief to her as a violent cough tore through her, causing her to blackout again.

The next time Gail woke, she knew something was different. Her armor had been removed, and she was in a tent of sorts, but more importantly, she could breathe again.

"Don't you dare move and rip out your stitches!" A female voice said from the other side of the small tent. "It took me over an hour to put in your chest tube and keep you from bleeding out." Gail tried to lift her head but was too weak to do so and felt exhausted from the effort. It was then she felt a soothing hand press down on her shoulder. "Go ahead and sleep, trooper. You're safe here," the now quiet voice insisted as Gail drifted off. She tried to fight it, her training demanded that she fight it, but it was a losing battle.

/

Relief swept through the physician's apprentice as she watched over the young blonde who slept soundly. Holly hadn't been sure that the trooper would even wake up after finding her in such a broken state.

She leaned back against the crate that she used as a nightstand and reflected back on the events of the day.

~A few hours earlier~

She heard an explosion, and watched as a New Order transport ship shot through the sky and broke apart as it lost altitude. The ground had shook with such force when the largest part of the ship hit that she almost toppled over.

She knew that survivors were unlikely but that was never going to stop her from looking. They might be the enemy but they were still people. After all, as a physician in training, Holly had taken an oath to help those in need of medical attention.

It took Holly over an hour to reach the crash site. The smell of smoke and death was thick in the air and it was making her eyes water. But she was determined and pushed through her discomfort. It didn't take her long to figure out that the crash had been devastating after searching the area. And it was with a heavy heart that she decided it was time to go, that finding any survivors was a lost cause.

But when she turned to leave and make her way back to her camp, she heard a faint cry a little ways off, deeper into the woods. Holly didn't take any time to think, she just acted, and rushed towards the sound. What she found was a Stormtrooper crumpled on the ground, their white armor stained with blood and blackened from smoke. She could tell from the raspy sounds that they were having difficulty breathing. And while she didn't want to risk further injury, she had no choice but to remove their helmet.

As gently as she could, Holly pulled their helmet off, and as she did, her own breathing stopped. The woman that had been wearing the helmet was stunning. Even with her short blonde hair matted with blood and her face covered in soot, Holly could tell that she was beautiful. But now wasn't the time to admire her, not when the woman's life was teetering on the edge.

Piece by piece, Holly removed the armor, careful not to make a life-threatening move. Ear to chest, she listened to the blonde breathe before concluding that she had a collapsed lung and wasn't getting enough oxygen. Having watched her mentor do the procedure a dozen times, it was now ingrained Holly's memory. But seeing it and doing it were two completely different things.

With a shaky breath, Holly opened her kit and found a blade and sterile tube. She counted the ribs, finding the intercostal space that she needed, and after giving herself a short pep talk, cut into the flesh with precision.

Swapping the blade for the tube, Holly winced at the animalistic noise the blonde made as she shoved the tube into place. It took a second but once the blonde's breathing started to normalize, Holly relaxed and continued on with her examination.

She noted several gashes, and it was clear that the blonde's ulna and radius were broken. But Holly couldn't be certain of the extent of her internal injuries. So she did the only thing she could think of. She made a makeshift skiff and loaded the trooper onto it and started the long journey back to her camp.

It took several hours to navigate a clear path to the camp but Holly couldn't bring herself to leave the injured woman and bring the camp to her. It wasn't easy to patch her up. There were so many wounds that needed stitches and there wasn't a sliver of skin that wasn't bruised or marred in someway.

Holly was torn from her thoughts as her patient woke again, groaned and fell back to sleep. Holly smiled in spite of her exhaustion. Her patient was a fighter, and now, because of her, the beautiful woman had a chance to live.

As Holly studied the sleeping woman, she couldn't help but be curious. Judging by her face, the blonde couldn't have been much older than her own nineteen years. How did this young woman come to be a Stormtrooper? What was she doing on the transport?

"Oh damn!" Holly cursed when she realized she'd forgotten to radio in the crash. Such a rookie mistake. She bolted towards the communications radio and fiddled with the dials until she found the current emergency channel. She had been given the radio when she had left the base earlier that week on a medicinal plant-hunting mission. "Base, this is Hotel Sierra, come in, base," Holly said with as much calm as she could muster.

There was a little static so she repeated her call sign until she heard, "This is base, report."

"At approximately 14:30 a New Order transport ship crashed in the northwest sector of quadrant 83," Holly answered and covered the mic when she heard the blonde groan in her sleep.

"What is the status of the ship?"

Holly shuddered at the memory of the twisted metal and charred bodies but pushed the thoughts away, "It's a complete loss, sir. It was on fire before impact."

"Survivors?"

Holly knew that she should say yes, but she also knew that the moment she did, an alliance officer would come and question the blonde, they would take her to base and find out what she knew of them. Meaning, Holly would most likely never see her again and the thought of that happening disappointed Holly.

She gulped down the lump in her throat and replied, "No. No sir. No survivors."

A crackle of static filled the small tent before the voice replied back, "Very well. A team will investigate the crash to see if anything of informational value can be found. Do you plan on continuing your foraging?"

The lie heavy on her tongue, she was slow to answer, "Yes, sir, I have several more areas to search. I should be returning in three weeks."

A moment later she got her reply. "Understood. Carry on, and report back with any additional news. Base out."

Holly set the mic down and shook her head. What had she done? Why did she lie? She walked back to her patient who was wrapped up in a blanket and trembling from the cold and probably shock. Holly sat on the edge of the cot, and held one of the blonde's wrists to check her pulse. It was slightly elevated but stable.

Switching her focus, Holly wiped the dried blood away from woman's pale skin around her cheek. She was risking everything for this stranger, this enemy. "Tell me that I didn't throw my life away just now," she voiced as she tucked a lock of sweat-dampened hair back. "Tell me that you're worth it, trooper, whoever you are."

Holly almost jumped when the woman squeezed her hand.

"I'll try," a weak voice whispered. "I'm SHRKFN15 but I used to go by Gail." There might have been more but the blonde fell asleep again, her body still exhausted from the trauma.

With a slightly lopsided smile Holly made herself comfortable on the space next to the bed so she could be close if she was needed. Holly started to close her eyes but sat up, she couldn't sleep; not before one last look at her patient…Gail, one last look at Gail. The blonde was in a deep sleep, Holly could tell that she was dreaming but of what she hadn't a clue; maybe she'd find out someday. Satisfied, Holly let herself relax and closed her eyes; she had no idea what tomorrow would bring but she was looking forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Gail noticed when she woke up was that she wasn't wearing her familiar uniform base layer but was instead in a loose fitting shirt. The second thing she noticed was that her arm was set in a cast and secured across her chest in a sling. Using her good arm, she ran a hand over her face, taking stock of her injuries. There were a few stitches over her eyebrow and a bandage across her cheek. Her body ached but the pain was bearable enough for her to attempt to sit up.

"Whoa! Not so fast, Gail," a voice called from the tent opening. A young woman dressed in a green shirt and black pants entered the tent, dropping a shoulder bag on the floor. "You've been asleep for the past three days, no need to rush. Let me help you."

Gail was wary of the strange woman that called her by a name she hadn't heard in fifteen years, but nonetheless let her help her to a sitting position. "How do you know that name?"

Holly smiled as she sat down at the far end of the cot. "You told me the day that I found you. I don't expect you remember that, you were pretty out of it. My name is Holly by the way. Do you remember what happened?"

The stormtrooper was torn. On one hand, she had been trained to resist interrogation techniques and to keep her mouth shut but on the other, she felt that she could trust Holly. Obviously in her impaired state she had trusted her with her real name, that had to mean something. There was also the likely fact that the New Order had already recorded her as deceased, therefore was no longer under their scrutiny. "I remember my shuttle started to shake and all of a sudden we were plummeting to the ground. Did anyone else…"

Holly sadly shook her head. "I searched the area, you were the only survivor. I'm sorry."

A wave of grief washed over Gail as she took in the news. She had never been particularly close to anyone in her squad, but the thought that they were all gone in a blink of an eye hit her unexpectedly hard. A tear threatened to escape but Gail squared her jaw and reminded herself that troopers don't cry, troopers carry on and push ahead. Above all else, SHRKFN15 was a trooper.

A hand clasped hers. "Is there anything I can do?" Holly asked quietly, "I have some tonics to help with pain and if you want, I have made some to help you sleep. Are you hungry? I could go…I should go," the young woman rambled as she started to stand up.

If not for the seriousness of the situation, Gail might have laughed at the rambling girl. Instead, she felt a strange feeling of endearment for her. No one had cared about her in a long time and it felt nice, comforting. Gail tightened her grip on Holly's hand. "You don't have to go."

"Okay," Holly said as she sat back down and offered her a smile.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and Gail used that time to really look at her rescuer. She reasoned that Holly was approximately her own height and weight, only her breasts were a bit larger. Her dark hair was pulled back into a braid, and she had a slightly lopsided smile and kind, warm brown eyes the color of a wookie. She was an attractive woman, Gail concluded. Not that she was attracted to her, troopers didn't think like that. Troopers served the Order. Attachments were strictly prohibited.

The silence was broken by Holly leaning in a bit, "Since you're up, would it be okay to examine your injuries?" Gail nodded and watched as Holly moved closer. Holly's smile was replaced by a determined expression as she lightly touched the bruised areas around the stitches on Gail's face, then peeled back the bandage on her cheek. She reached into a duffle bag beside the bed for a clean cloth, and using a wash basin on a crate, gently washed Gail's cheek. Gail couldn't help but lean into the faint touch and sigh.

Holly's professional demeanor cracked slightly and she smiled. "It looks good, I don't think it will scar." After the bandage was replaced, the trooper watched as Holly paused and blushed, "I need to check…" she gestured at Gail's shirt.

"Oh." Gail looked down at the shirt in question and realized she only had one usable arm. "I'm going to need your help taking it off," Gail said simply, more than used to others seeing her in such a state of undress. Troopers lived in communal dormitories, where privacy was an unknown concept to anyone below the rank of sergeant.

Still blushing, Holly slid her hands under the white shirt she usually slept in and eased it over Gail's head, leaving the blonde trooper naked except for a few bandages and a cast. Holly had to control her breathing. She was supposed to be a physician and not let her hormones take control, but it was difficult when she felt an extraordinary pull towards Gail.

With a touch that lingered a second longer than needed, Holly traced her fingers along Gail's ribs, which were deeply bruised but thankfully not broken. Using her fingertips, she peeled the tape off the bandage that covered where Gail's chest tube had been and was pleased to see it healing nicely. She tried in vain not to stare at the blonde's breasts but it was hard since they were right there, and with the chill in the air, the troopers nipples stood at attention. Holly gulped and quickly checked the rest of Gail's stitches before replacing the loose shirt.

"So will I survive doc?" Gail asked in an almost teasing tone.

Holly nodded as she put a little distance between them. "Yes. In fact, you are healing much faster than I expected. Many of your cuts and bruises look over a week old instead of only a few days. I think you should be able to start moving around soon. Granted, you'll need to watch your arm."

Gail gently lifted her cast and grimaced, "How long will I need the cast?"

"Eight weeks, maybe a little less." A pout formed on the stormtrooper's face, which Holly found adorable. "It could be worse, you could have broken your leg. How about you take a nap and I'll make us some food?"

Gail nodded weakly as she found herself feeling exhausted.

Holly eased Gail back into a prone position, brushing a few sweaty locks of hair away from Gail's face as she fell asleep. When Holly realized what she was doing, she shook her head and stood up. She needed to put some distance between them. She knew falling for the enemy would end in disaster. Trouble was, the longer she looked at Gail, the harder it was to see her as the enemy but as someone that she wanted to kiss. Holly scolded herself as she left the tent, she never had this trouble when she stitched up Jawas.

Later that week, after Holly had cleared Gail to go for short walks with her, Gail accompanied her on plant scouting trips. She soon found out that the trooper had a sharp wit and sarcastic tongue, which Holly found extremely attractive. They mostly kept their conversations to safe topics, like the plants that Holly was seeking, and Gail's hatred of the vegetable paste that Holly tried to feed her as a vitamin supplement.

"I never thought that I would miss the supplement shots that Lieutenant Starther gave me every week," Gail commented as she reluctantly ate the paste (she only ate it because Holly tilted her head and pouted).

"You got shots every week? Do you know what for? If you have a condition I need to know…as your doctor," Holly rambled.

Gail shrugged, "I don't know, I've been getting them since I was five. Well, one of them I have been getting since then and the other one started when I was a bit older. I was never told why and I learned quickly that it was in my best interest not to ask. It's not a stormtrooper's job to question their superior."

Holly frowned, "I'll have to draw some blood later and run a few tests to make sure that you don't have any deficiencies." She took a bite of bread and slowly chewed, taking a moment to pick her words carefully. "Why did you become a stormtrooper?"

The blonde let out a mirthless laugh. "You think I chose to do this? Holly, do you know what a retired stormtrooper does?" Holly shook her head. "Neither do I because they don't exist. The average life expectancy of a trooper is twenty-two years. Does that really sound like something I would choose?" Gail stood up and let out a small groan when her stitches pulled on her side. "You want the truth? I'll tell you. Once upon a time I was Gail Peck, daughter of Captain Elaine Peck and Major William Peck. I had an older brother Steve who was already in a junior officer program when I was born. You have to understand that most people only have one child and I guess I was a surprise to the Captain and Major. One day when I was four, I was playing in our living quarters and my mother came in with a strange man and told me that I was going with him, that I wasn't Gail anymore and that I belonged to the Order now."

"Your parents did this to you?" Holly asked in horror as she imagined the tiny blonde being taken away from her home.

Gail looked out into the distance of the woods and nodded, "I was put in a transport shuttle and taken to the training facility where I learned discipline and the ways of the Order. I was given an identifier tag and a bunk. That was my life and I had no choice but to accept it. I aced my weapons qualifications and tested high in the pilot program. Ironically, I was on the shuttle that crashed headed for pilot training."

"Did you ever see your family after you were taken away?"

"I saw my mother once last year. She looked the same. Of course, she didn't recognize me, with the helmet and all. Steve died a few years ago. Apparently he pissed off Kylo Ren and got force choked. I don't know if my father is alive or not. What about your family? Do you have one?"

Holly set her lunch aside, not feeling hungry any longer. "Both my mother and father live at one of the rebellion bases. My mother is a doctor and my father is an engineer; no brothers or sisters, well not by blood. My parents have a habit of taking in lost strays for a while until they can find their way so I guess I had a lot of foster siblings growing up."

"Were you happy?"

Holly nodded as she thought about her childhood. "It wasn't always easy, we moved a lot but I got to see a lot of different planets and learned so many different customs."

"Nerd."

Holly stuck her tongue out at her. "Scruffy nerf herder."

True to her word, Holly took some blood from Gail that evening and put the samples in her little LNCH-BX drone to analyze overnight. Gail watched her with fascination as Holly cataloged all of their finds for the day. It was calming watching Holly in her element. To be honest, Gail found herself watching Holly a lot lately. She chocked it up to her deeply embedded trooper observation training. But that didn't really explain why her eyes continuously roamed to Holly's boobs or ass, or why she was having dreams about the woman; dreams that involved the doctor taking off her own clothes to check Gail's injuries.

Gail climbed under the blanket on the cot as Holly extinguished the lantern and settled on the makeshift bed on the floor. The night air chilled them as the wind picked up and rain started to patter on the tent. Letting the rain lull her to sleep, Gail was woken upon hearing Holly shifting on the floor beside her. "You okay down there?" Gail asked as she looked down and saw Holly shivering under the thin blanket and instantly felt guilty for taking her bed.

"I'm fine, I just need to put on my jacket," Holly replied but Gail shook her head.

"Bring your blanket up here, we can share. It's too cold for a single blanket," Gail said as she patted the small space next to her on the bed with her good hand. In the dark Gail could see the hesitation on Holly's face. "Look, I haven't killed you yet, I think you can trust me."

Holly hated that Gail thought that her hesitation was about her not trusting Gail when it was about not trusting herself not to act on her growing feelings. But how could she tell the blonde that? Pushing down said feelings, Holly grabbed her blanket and laid down next to Gail, draping the blanket over the both of them. It was a tight fit and the only way to prevent one of them from falling off the cot was to spoon Gail.

Her heart quickened it's pace as Gail settled in her arms. "I do trust you," Holly said as she felt Gail drift off.

"I know."

The next morning Holly woke to a tickling sensation on her nose and opened her eyes to see Gail cuddled tightly against her; turns out that the big bad stormtrooper was a secret snuggler. It should have been awkward to be sharing the tiny cot but somehow it worked, her and Gail fit like two puzzle pieces. Holly sighed as she let her fingers trace little infinity symbols over the exposed skin of Gail's back; in three weeks someone would be coming to pick Holly up and bring her back to the rebel base. What would become of Gail then? Would she want to come with her? Would she even be allowed to go back with Holly? There were so many questions that needed answers. "It's too early to be thinking so hard." Gail groaned sleepily as she lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at Holly's concerned face. "Is everything okay? Did I kick you in my sleep or something?"

Holly shook her head and fought the urge to press a kiss on Gail's forehead as they both sat up. "Everything's fine, I just have a lot on my mind. I should get up and check your blood tests. If you do have some deficiencies it would be best to find out now."

Gail nodded, "Yeah go check your lunchbox, I'll start heating the water up for breakfast."

"He's not a lunchbox, LNCH-BX is a highly sophisticated medical research drone." Holly replied as she defended her little red and yellow drone that was trilling and beeping, a sure fire signal that Gail's results were done. "What is it? Have you got a diagnosis?" The drone beeped and a hologram appeared on the tent wall. To say Holly was surprised by the results was an understatement. "Are you sure?" Holly asked the drone, who beeped indignantly at being accused of being wrong. "Okay okay, you're sure." Holly apologized as she pulled on her jacket and exited the tent. She found Gail stirring a pot of hot cereal, "Gail when did you say that you started getting the shots?"

Gail looked up from her stirring and frowned, "The first one started a few days after I was taken from my home, so five years old. The other shot started when I was ten or eleven, why?"

Holly sat down on a log that served as their bench, "I got the blood test results, based on the trace readings you have a hormone suppressant, which I suppose isn't that odd; I would think that it would be a bad idea for stormtroopers to become pregnant but these are fairly extreme. This suppressant actual blocks the chemicals in your body that stimulate your brain that deals with attraction and desire. Gail they effectively shutdown your sex drive."

Gail took the news in and tried to understand what it meant. "So now that I'm not receiving the shots I'm going to become a hormonal mess?"

Holly shrugged her shoulders, "It's hard to say, you're probably already feeling some of the effects. You'll have some mood swings and you'll start menstruating but I can give you some medication to help you balance out the hormones until you're settled."

With a nod Gail looked down at her feet, it was starting to make sense why she was feeling so clingy towards Holly, she was attracted to her…or at least her screwed up body was. She needed to sort things out before they got out of hand. Then Gail remembered that she had been getting two shots. "What about the other shot Holly? What was it?"

Now it's Holly's turn to look down to collect herself before answering. "A long time ago back in the days before the Rebellion, even before there was an Alliance people were nervous about the force, specifically children that showed signs of being force sensitive. The worry was that they could be dangerous since they wouldn't know how to control it so they made a neural block that could be administered to the children until they were properly train on how to control the force. Over the years it was banned because it was barbaric, the children were left in a depressed state since a part of them was essentially shutdown in them; many didn't survive into adulthood because of this. As far as I knew the drug hadn't been used in fifty years but I guess someone in the First Order brought it out of retirement. Gail I found this drug in you. You have the force within you."

If Gail had been shocked before she was floored now; there was no possible way that it could be true. "The force? Like jedis and that dickhead Kylo Ren?"

Holly offered a weak smile and nodded. "Gail think back to when you were young, do you remember anything strange happening when you'd get upset or scared?"

Gail combed through her memories but nothing stood out and shook her head. "I don't remember a lot from back then and what I do is hazy." She stood up and started to pace, "What does all this mean Holly? I don't have a clue on how to control powers. I've seen first hand how out of control Kylo Ren can be when he gets emotional, people die Holly." Gail shook her head and looked as if she was about to cry. "I can't be trusted with this, you need to find a way to suppress them again."

In a flash, Holly was up and hugging Gail; bringing her head to Holly's chest and stroking her hair. "I'm sorry Gail but I can't, once you go off the blockers you can't go back on them; they would kill you. I'll help you learn how to control it, it will be okay. Everything will be okay."

"Arghhh!" Gail groaned as she held out her good arm pointing towards a balled up sock. "Rise dammit!" Frustrated she crossed her arms and pouted, a week of force exercises had proved useless, not only couldn't she focus the force to move something a insignificant as a sock she couldn't focus period because all she could think about was the young doctor sitting across from her. It felt like every moment of the day was devoted to trying to make Holly smile or laugh. Her favorite part of the day was bedtime when Holly crawled onto the cot with her to sleep. All Gail wanted to do was walk up to her and kiss her but she didn't dare. Holly deserved someone so much better than a sad, broken excuse for a stormtrooper; she couldn't even lift a sock dammit.

Gail was brought out of her self loathing by Holly squeezing her shoulders. "Come'on I think you've had enough practice for now. Let's take our walk, I think the Fanza tree should be blossoming now. I might not get another chance to get some." They walked in comfortable silence for a while until Holly spoke up, "It took my friend Rey a long while to learn control too, before she started training the force only presented itself when she was under duress."

Sulking, Gail shrugged her shoulders. "I bet she could lift a sock though."

Holly laughed, "She once accidentally flipped her girlfriend into a table when she was trying to rotate a fork in the air. Boy oh boy was Phasma mad."

Gail laughed despite her brooding, "I once had a Captain named Phasma, not a real common name. I liked her, she was one of the only officers to care about their squad. It was a shame that she died in the explosion on the Starkiller base."

Holly debated on whether or not to mention that Phasma used to be a trooper but decided that she'd let Gail

find out about Phasma on her own. Holly stopped walking and took off her shoulder bag. "Here's the tree and look it's full of blossoms up at the top." Holly pointed to small clusters of blue and green flowers thirty feet above ground. "It shouldn't take long to harvest them." She started to climb the tree.

"Wait!" Gail yelled as she tugged Holly down with her good arm. "It's too high, you can't climb up there."

Crossing her arms, Holly smirked, "Do you want to climb up there instead? One of us has to, the blossoms only last a single day."

"Can't you do without them. Seriously they can't be that important."

"Gail they are pretty much the sole reason that I'm on this planet. The extract from the dried petals is the only cure for Jankon fever. Have you ever had Jankon fever?" Gail shook her head. "I didn't think so because if you had then you would be pushing me up this tree. Now are we done talking about this? Can I climb up there or do you want to?"

Holly didn't receive an answer only a scowl and rolled eyes. Holly started to climb and Gail grumbled, "I would climb if it wasn't for this dumb cast."

Halfway up the tree, Holly laughed, "I bet you're an excellent tree climber, just like a cat." Gail watched as Holly got up to the blossoms and started to shimmy across a limb to gather the blossoms. Gail didn't like the way the branch was shifting under Holly's weight.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Gail muttered under her breath as a knot grew in her stomach. Just then a loud crack echoed through the woods and as if in slow motion Gail watched as the limb broke and Holly started to plummet to the ground. Gail only had time to scream, "Holly!" before everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

You'd think Gail would be used to waking up from blacking out on the ground by now but she wasn't. Her head was pounding as she slowly opened her eyes, memories of Holly speeding towards the ground causing panic to erupt through her foggy mind. "Holly!" She screamed as she bolted upright. The thought of losing the one person that she cared for was more painful than crash landing.

"I'm okay... I'm fine." Holly soothed as Gail realized that the young doctor was straddling her lap. Gail reached out to touch Holly to be sure that she was real; her fingers traced to curve of Holly's cheek and down her neck to grasp her by the shoulder.

"How are you alive? I watched you fall...I stood here and watched you plummet to the ground..."Gail choked out as her eyes started to water.

Holly reached up and placed her own hand over Gail's. "You saved me. One second I'm up the tree and the next I was falling. I thought for sure that it was all over for me but then I just stopped midair, I floated for a bit just above you. You had your hand up and you were staring right into my eyes and...you held me up. Gail you used the force and saved me. It must have taken everything you had because you passed out and I dropped the last few feet onto you. I guess it makes sense I do weigh slightly more than a rolled up sock." Holly explained.

Gail dropped her head into Holly's chest, shear exhaustion washed over her as she took in the news. A mix of pure elation that Holly was safe and fear that she did indeed have the force within her came in waves. "No more climbing trees." She mumbled against Holly's shirt.

"What did you say?" Holly asked as she rubbed small circles on the shaking trooper's back.

Sitting up, Gail repeated, "No more climbing trees. I can't see you fall again. And what if next time I can't catch you?! I don't know how that force thing works. I can't...I won't lose you Holly." The raw emotion dripping from her words as Gail's eyes shone brightly.

Holly didn't know what to say, so she nodded, "No more climbing trees, I'll find another way." She put both hands on Gail's shoulders and drew her into a close embrace. "Thank you for saving me." Gail sighed as she relaxed in Holly's arms, why did it feel so right to be held by this woman? It was as if all the worlds aligned and made this one perfect moment. Holly started to say something but Gail chose this instance to capture her lips.

Granted it was Gail's first kiss so maybe she was a bit biased but it was perfect. It started off a little clumsy as Gail's lips landed on Holly's upper lip first but she got the hang of it and included her lower lip. Holly certainly helped by kissing back enthusiastically, gradually deepening the kiss and pulling Gail closer. Gail's one good hand fisted the back of Holly's shirt as her casted arm came between them. The moment ended as Gail accidently crashed her cast onto Holly's boob; the out of breath physician's assistant let out gasp and Gail pulled back. "I'm so sorry...I shouldn't have...I wasn't thinking... all I could think about was touching you...I need to go." Gail tried to get up but couldn't since Holly was still straddling her. Before she could move out from under Holly, the young doctor leaned forward and brought the two of them to the ground; her dark hair had come loose from it's ponytail and created a curtain around them.

"I've wanted to kiss you from the moment that I took your helmet off, please don't be sorry about kissing me. I couldn't bear it if you regreted it." Holly admitted.

Gail bit her lip and shook her head, "I don't regret it...I just don't know what I'm doing. I'm so confused but the one thing I'm sure about is you."

Holly nodded with a small lopsided smile, "That's a start, we'll go slow and we'll figure it out but first can I kiss you again?" Gail didn't answer but instead pulled her down to her lips, sometimes the less talking the better.

~ Back at camp ~

Once again Gail was topless as Holly made sure that the trooper's ribs hadn't been injured when Holly landed on her (her actual exam lasted 30 seconds, the last minute was in appreciation of blonde's flat stomach and pert breasts). Gail shrugged the shirt back on, she'd enjoyed the blush reddening Holly's cheeks as she flexed slightly before smoothing the shirt down. Satisfied that Gail was uninjured Holly moved to sit opposite her by the fire. "We should talk." She said simply.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

Holly held out her hands, "You, me, us... the fact that you used the force today, or maybe that we kissed... take your pick."

Gail rolled her eyes but before she could say something bitingly sarcastic LNCH-BX rolled up and let out a slew of beeps and blips. Holly abruptly stood and started to pace. "Are you sure? They said in two days?" The small droid beeped and spun it's head. "It's not that I don't believe you but they're not due for another week." The annoyed droid let out a series of beeps and left.

"What did your lunchbox say?" Gail asked although she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

Holly looked down towards the fire, "My ride back to the base is coming earlier than planned, they'll be here the day after next. I thought I...we... had more time."

After a moment to let that sink in Gail clapped her good hand down on her knee, startling Holly as she stood up. "Okay then, let's get to talking; we have a lot to figure out in not a lot of time. Let's start with the 'you, me, us' part; I think that ties into the whole kissing thing too. I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about but I like who I am with you. It's been so long since I was Gail and not just a serial number. I think you bring out the best in me and maybe it's selfish but I don't want to give that up. I'd like to think that maybe I make your day a little better...I know that you deserve a lot better than me but I'll try, I'll probably fuck things up a time or two and you'll probably get frustrated with me but I won't give up. I tested extremely high in tenacity when taking my trooper exams. I want there to be an us Holly, I want to kiss you again. I want a thousand more kisses. I'd like to touch you and be touched by you. I've never really understood intimacy, we're trained that it's a weakness but I don't think so. I feel stronger when I'm with you. When your transport comes for you I'd really like to go with you. I'll swear alligence to the rebel alliance, I'll renouce the First Order; whatever it takes to be with you. I love you."

Holly started to cry, "I know."

Gail briskly strode over to her, "What's wrong?"

Wiping the tears from her eyes, "I want you to come with me, I want to be with you...I want it so badly but..."

"But what?"

Holly swallowed hard, "It became very clear today that the force is strong in you; I have no doubts that with training tout could be a great jedi."

"So?" Gail asked confused as to where Holly was going with this line of thought.

Holly continued, "To become a jedi it means to let go of worldly possessions and cut emotional ties."

"Oh...you mean that... " Gail let out a slow breath and took one of Holly's hands.

"We can't be together."

Gail shook her head, "What about your friend Rey? You said that she's training and has a girlfriend. How is that possible if jedi have to be celibate?"

"Technically Rey isn't a jedi and isn't training to become one, she's simply trying to reign in her powers and understand them. She refuses to chose a side." Holly explained.

"Then that's what I'll do. I don't need to be a jedi Holly, I need you. I've spent most of my life listening to others telling me what to do, following orders and I accepted that that's all my life would be but I won't do that anymore. I want to learn to be Gail, plain old Gail, not SHRKFN15, not Jedi apprentice Gail...unless you don't want me." Gail said trailing off as worry set in that she might not be enough. She admitted to herself that she wasn't exactly girlfriend material.

Her worries ceased as Holly kissed her passionately. Holly pulled away, "Don't ever say or think that I don't want you just the way you are. I don't care if you ever use the force again, I just want you happy." She went back to kissing her until they were breathless.

"I'll be happy as long as I'm with you and you don't make me eat anymore veggie paste." Gail said cheekily.

Holly laughed, "Oh I won't be cooking, when we get to the base we'll eat in the meal house, there's a Wookie cook and you eat what he gives you, you don't fight about what he serves you. A word to the wise, let the Wookie win."

Gail scoffed and mumbled under her breath, "I could take on a wookie, not a full grown one but a younger smaller one..."

~

Night had set in and they'd retired to their cot, the closeness taking on deeper significance since the night before. Holly wrapped her arms around Gail, heat steadly growing as her hands found warm skin under Gail's shirt. She'd never wanted someone the way she wanted Gail, it was too soon to act on it she knew, besides the fact that Gail was still healing but that didn't stop her body from reacting nor did it stop Gail from moaning quietly from her touch, Gail's hand moving to cover Holly's hand to move it lower. She kissed Gail's exposed neck as she removed her hand and placed it on top of Gail's shirt. "Sleep, we'll have plenty of time for that later."

"It's a trap! This cot is a trap destined to drive me crazy. You know my hormones are as out of control as that Gungan, Jar Jar Binks. Unless you plan on following through you'd better stop teasing." Gail pouted as she wiggled closer into Holly's embrace.

Holly laughed, "Okay no more teasing, at least until your cast is off, or until we get to my quarters on base where I have a much larger bed."

Gail turned around in Holly's arms, her face so different from the first time Holly saw it, just as beautiful but now more so because she was happy and loved. Gail pecked a light kiss on Holly's lips. "What happened to the rambling nerd who was scared to share a bed with me? Who are you?"

Holly kissed her back, "Someone who loves you." 


End file.
